referencesource/medical-certificate-validity-by-occupation

How long medical certificates last for pilots, commercial drivers and merchant mariners — by class, age and service type

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• —Last verified: 2026-08-11
• —Stale after: 2027-08-11 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy — it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
• —Records: 17

How long a federally required medical certificate remains valid for each regulated transport occupation, and what it depends on. FAA pilot medicals (14 CFR 61.23) cascade by class and age — a first-class certificate carries first-class privileges to the 12th month for pilots under 40 but only the 6th month at 40 or older, then downgrades to second- and third-class privileges on a schedule; commercial drivers need a medical examiner's certificate on a cycle set by 49 CFR 391.45; merchant mariner medical certificates run 2 years for STCW service but 5 years for national-only credentials, and only 1 year for mariners under 18 (46 CFR 10.301). Same question — 'how long is my medical good for?' — three regulators, three completely different answer structures. Answers 'how long is a first class medical valid for a 45-year-old pilot?', 'how often does a truck driver need a DOT physical?', 'why is my mariner medical certificate only valid two years?'

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Licence position

All sources are eCFR (US government work, public domain). We take facts plus short attributed quotes linking back.

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Sources

• —https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-61/subpart-A/section-61.23
• —https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-10/subpart-C/section-10.301
• —https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-391/subpart-E/section-391.45

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